Phillies owner John Middleton has been rumored to be angling for a majority stake in the Phillies organization in recent times. While Middleton himself has said very little publicly, his son, John Powers Middleton, has occasionally weighed in on Phillies matters. The younger Middleton did again today and was highly critical of a popular Phillie's contract.
Middleton tweeted:
Let's hope #RunAllNight turns out better than Cliff Lee's elbow. This year's sticking stuffers are undeserved vesting options. #GoPhils
— John Middleton (@johnmiddleton) March 11, 2015
The younger Middleton is a Hollywood producer.
In fact, Middleton serves as an executive producer for Liam Neeson's new film Run All Night. It would be one thing to use the Lee elbow as a point of reference for the success of the film. But Middleton went a step further, looking at Lee's vesting contract option for 2016.
According to the terms of Lee's contract, if he finishes 2015 not on the disabled list, Lee will be paid $27.5 million next season. If he did finish the season on the disabled list, the Phillies could pay $12 million and get out from under Lee's contract. The terms of the deal could greatly impact what happens.
Lee threw today. With this type of sprain, Lee can pitch through pain (and probably not well) or he could potentially get surgery that would knock him out for the rest of the season. This is where Middleton's comments are uncomfortable; he may be suggesting that if Lee pitches through the pain just enough to end the year active, then he will be paid handsomely in 2016.
Run All Night opens in theaters this weekend.
